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CIRCULAR No.25/2000/TT-BTC OF MARCH 30, 2000 GUIDING THE REFUND OF REVENUES ALREADY REMITTED TO THE STATE BUDGET

Pursuant to the March 20, 1996 Law on the State Budget and the Government�s Decree No.87/CP of December 19, 1996 detailing the assignment of responsibilities for managing, drafting, implementing and settling the State budget;

Pursuant to the May 20, 1998 Law Amending and Supplementing a Number of Articles of the Law on the State Budget and the Government�s Decree No.51/1998/ND-CP of July 18, 1998 amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Government�s Decree No.87/CP of December 19, 1996 detailing the assignment of responsibilities for managing, drafting, implementing and settling the State budget;

The Ministry of Finance hereby guides the refund of revenues already remitted to the State budget as follows:

I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1. Enterprises, organizations and individuals (hereinafter referred collectively to as the units) shall be refunded the revenue amounts they have remitted to the State budget (Account No.741) by the finance agencies when they fully meet the following conditions:

1.1. Such revenue amounts are examined, considered and decided to be refunded by the provincial/municipal tax and customs authorities, or State agencies authorized to collect them (hereinafter referred to as the collecting agencies for short) strictly according to their respective competence and the prescribed regime.

1.2. Such revenue amounts have actually been remitted to the State budget by the units (or by the collecting agencies on the units� behalf), with the State Treasury�s certification.

1.3. The refund must not be effected by mode of clearing the to be-refunded amounts against the units� remittable revenues expected to arise in the subsequent period.

2. The clearing of refunded amounts against the remittable revenues expected to arise in the subsequent period is prescribed as follows:

- For operating enterprises:

+ The clearing shall be effected only between revenues of the same nature, it must not be effected between those of different natures, for example: Value added tax (VAT) amounts can only be cleared against other VAT amounts, turnover tax against turnover tax (or VAT), but neither against the profit tax nor against the enterprise income tax; the import tax against the import tax but neither against VAT nor special consumption tax on imports...

+ The clearing shall be effected right at the time when refundable revenue amounts arise against those which have already arisen and must be remitted to the State budget (for each single arising revenue amount) or right in the month, quarter or taxation period (for those which are expected to arise and be remitted during such taxation period).

- For enterprises that are dissolved, go bankrupt or relocate their business places from one locality to another, and have no revenues expected to arise to be remitted in the subsequent period, there must be the collecting agency�s certification of such units� revenue amounts over-remitted to the budget that shall be refunded in clearing against their outstanding revenue amounts that must be fully remitted to the budget, as well as the surplus amount after such clearing is effected by the collecting agency, and a request for further refund by the finance agency.

3. The units that pay VAT by deduction method shall be refunded input VAT according to provisions at Clause I, Part D of the Ministry of Finance�s Circular No.89/1998/TT-BTC of June 27, 1998 guiding the implementation of the Government�s Decree No.28/1998/ND-CP of May 11, 1998 detailing the implementation of the VAT Law.

4. Revenue amounts shall be refunded from the budget funds of a level into which they have previously been accounted. For those divided among budgets of various levels, the finance agency of the highest level shall have to consider and decide the refund thereof.

5. The concerned agencies shall have to account and settle the State budget�s revenues already refunded to the concerned units according to the prescribed regime.

II. SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

1. Revenue amounts already remitted to the State budget shall be refunded by the finance agencies as follows:

1.1. The Ministry of Finance (the State Budget Department) shall effect the refund of:

- Revenue amounts already remitted to the State budget and accounted 100% into the central budget.

- Revenue amounts already remitted to the State budget and divided between the central budget and the local budgets (the part enjoyed by the central budget).

1.2. Finance and Pricing Services of the provinces and centrally-run cities (collectively referred to as provinces) shall refund:

- Revenue amounts already remitted to the State budget and accounted 100% into the provincial budgets.

- Revenue amounts already remitted to the State budget and divided among the budgets of all levels (the part enjoyed by the provincial budgets).

1.3. Finance and pricing bureaus of rural districts, urban districts, provincial capitals, provincial towns (collectively referred to as districts) shall refund:

- Revenue amounts already remitted to the State budget and accounted 100% into the district budgets.

- Revenue amounts already remitted to the State budget and divided among the budgets of all levels (the part enjoyed by the district budgets).

1.4. Finance sections of communes, wards and district townships (collectively referred to as communes) shall refund:

- Revenue amounts already remitted to the State budget and accounted 100% into the commune budgets.

- Revenues already remitted to the State budget and divided among the budgets of all levels (the part enjoyed by the commune budgets).

2. Each refund-requesting dossier made and sent by the collecting agency to the finance agency shall comprise:

2.1. An official dispatch requesting the refund (the original) sent by the agency that has issued refunding decision to the finance agency, which must clearly state the following contents:

- The name of the unit eligible for the refund; the serial number of its account; the place where it opens account(s) (the Bank or the State Treasury...);

- The legal grounds for determining the amount to be refunded to the unit;

- The reason(s) for direct refund from the State budget;

- The total amount remitted by the unit to the State budget;

- The total amount refunded to the unit under a decision of the competent State agency, of which:

+ The amount refunded to the unit by mode of clearing.

+ The unit�s remaining amount requested to be refunded at the finance agency.

In cases where the subject eligible for the refund is an individual who has no account at the Bank or the State Treasury while the refund is to be made in cash, the refund-requesting official dispatch sent to the finance agency must clearly inscribe: the full name of the refundee, his/her address of permanent residence and his/her identity card (serial number, date and place of issuance).

2.2. The refunding decision (the original) of the competent agency according to the provisions of the tax laws and the current guiding documents of the State.

2.3. The State Treasury�s written certification (the original) of the revenue amount actually remitted to the State budget. Such written certification is made and issued by the State Treasury, where the unit remits the said amount (or the collecting agency remitting such amount on the unit�s behalf) to the State budget, according to the set form, at the request of such unit or collecting agency.

3. The refunding procedures:

3.1. The collecting agencies shall make and send dossiers for refunding revenue amounts already remitted to the State budget under their management competence (according to the provisions at Point 2, Part II of this Circular) to the finance agencies which effect the refund.

3.2. The finance agencies of all levels, after receiving the refund-requesting dossiers from the collecting agencies, shall have to examine, consider and settle them as follows:

- If a dossier is incomplete as prescribed at Point 2, Part II of this Circular, the concerned finance agency must, within 03 working days, send an official dispatch to the refund-requesting agency for completing such dossier as prescribed.

- If the dossiers are complete according to the provisions at Point 2, Part II of this Circular, they shall, within 07 working days, issue orders of return of the State budget�s received revenues (for revenue amounts remitted to the budget during the current budgetary year) or orders of allocation of the State budget�s expenditures (for revenue amounts remitted to the State budget during the preceding budgetary years), then send them to the State Treasury of the same level for effecting the refunds to the units; and at the same time, send notices thereof to the refund-requesting agencies.

3.3. If revenue amounts are divided among various budget levels, the refund-requesting dossiers shall be sent to the finance agency of the highest level.

- The finance agency of the highest level shall, upon receiving the dossier, have to examine it, then consider and decide the refund, and send an official dispatch together with a refund-requesting dossier set (the copy) according to the provisions at Point 2, Part II of this Circular to the finance agency of lower level.

- The finance agency of lower level shall, upon receiving the official dispatch and refund-requesting dossier from the finance agency of higher level, have to effect the refund of revenue amounts already remitted to the budget of lower level as stipulated at Point 3.2 above.

3.4. The State Treasury shall, upon receiving the refund vouchers (orders of return of received revenues or allocation of expenditures) from the finance agencies of the same level, have to examine and check such vouchers:

- If they find such vouchers are incomplete, unclear or made not according to the currently prescribed regime, they shall return them within 2 working days to the finance agencies of the same level together with notices of reasons for payment refusal, so that the latter can know and complete such vouchers.

- If they find such vouchers are complete, clear and made according to the currently prescribed regime, they shall carry out the procedures for refunding money to the concerned units, more concretely:

+ For amounts to be refunded on orders of the State budget�s expenditure allocation, the State Treasury of the same level shall, within 2 working days, have to return the refundable amounts directly to the accounts of the refundees and account them as budget expenditures of the current year.

+ For amounts to be refunded on orders of the State budget�s received revenue return, the State Treasury of the same level shall, within 2 working days, have to transfer vouchers of the State budget�s received revenue return to the State Treasury where the units remit (or the collecting agencies remit on the units� behalf) such amounts to the State budget, and within 2 working days, the latter shall return the refundable amounts directly to the units� accounts and account them as decreases to the budget of the current year according to the arising Chapters, Categories, Sections, Items and Sub-items.

+ For amounts to be refunded in cash, the State Treasury of all levels shall have to guide the refundees to strictly observe the current prescribed regime on return of payments in cash.

4. Responsibilities of the State agencies involved in the refund of the State budget revenues to the concerned units:

4.1. Tax and customs authorities and other State agencies authorized to collect revenues shall have to:

- Issue refund decisions and ensure that revenues are refunded accurately to the right subjects, within their respective competence and according to the prescribed regime.

- Make and send dossiers requesting the refund (as prescribed at Point 2, Part II of this Circular) of the State budget revenues under their management competence to the finance agencies that effect such refund.

In cases where a decision on refund of the State budget revenues to the unit is found to have been made in contravention of law provisions, the agency issuing the refund decision and the refund-requesting unit shall be held responsible before law for their violations; and at the same time, the refundee shall have to immediately return the refunded amount back to the State budget.

4.2. The State Treasury shall have to:

- Make written certifications of revenues actually remitted to the State budget when it is so requested by the concerned units (or the collecting agencies that remit revenues on such units� behalf);

- Be responsible before law for the certified contents;

- Effect the refund of money to the units strictly according to the provisions at Point 3.2, Part II of this Circular.

- Guide the units (or the collecting agencies that remit revenues on the units� behalf) in strictly implementing the provisions of the Ministry of Finance�s Circulars No.41/1998/TT-BTC of March 31, 1998 and No.12/1999/TT-BTC of February 1st, 1999 on the concentration and management of the State budget revenues via the State Treasury.

4.3. The finance agencies shall have to:

- Effect the refund of money to the concerned units strictly according to the provisions at Point 3.1, Part II of this Circular.

- Send official dispatches notifying the refund-requesting agencies of the effected refund of money to the units.

This Circular takes effect 15 days after its signing. The previous stipulations which are contrary this Circular are now annulled.

The General Department of Tax, the General Department of Customs, the State agencies authorized to collect revenues, the Central State Treasury, the finance agencies of all levels and the revenue refundees shall have to implement and guide their attached units in strict implementing the provisions of this Circular. Any problems arising in the implementation course should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Finance for study, guidance as well as amendments and supplements.

For the Minister of Finance

Vice Minister
PHAM VAN TRONG